The Community Bargaining Association (CBA) and the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) continued negotiations for the renewal of the Community Health collective agreement for four days and concluded on July 12, 2012.  Talks are scheduled to continue for two weeks in Vancouver starting August 15.

During the week of bargaining, the CBA and HEABC discussed and tabled counter proposals on the issues of job postings, layoff and recall, arbitration procedure, occupational health and safety, and issues related to casual rights.

The Joint Community Social Services Labour Adjustment & Education Fund is now accepting applications from members working in the community social services sector.   Successful applicants may receive up to $5,000 (lifetime maximum) to take eligible courses.

The labour adjustment and education funds are available through a grant from the provincial government resulting from a joint request made by the Community Social Services Bargaining Association and the Community Social Services Employers Association, during the negotiation of the 2010 ... 2012 collective agreement.

The federal government is turning its back on health care at a time when we need our elected leaders to help build a caring future for Canada. The current federal-provincial-territorial agreement on health care will end in 2014 and the federal government has walked away from the negotiating table with the provinces before negotiations have even started.

If you are an HSA member who was laid off after January 28, 2002 due to re-tendering, contracting out, or bumping from a heath care job in the community subsector,

- or -

If you are a current employee in a community subsector job and are interested in skills development, you may be eligible for reimbursement of training costs.

The retraining funds are available as a result of a settlement between health unions, health employers and the BC government related to a June, 2007 Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Bill 29.

Late Monday evening, the BCGEU will commence a one-day job action at BC Liquor distribution centres in Vancouver, Victoria and Kamloops.

HSA members are encouraged to join the BCGEU members at each of the three locations throughout the action, but primarily from 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 3, 2012 until the action is over at the end of the day.  Please bring banners and signs that show your support.

Location details are as follows:

Q: Im scheduled to work July 1, and not on July 2. However, my employer says that I will not be getting paid at the -statutory holiday" rate for work on July 1. Is this right?

A: This year, July 1 falls on a Sunday. According to the federal Holidays Act, this means the legal statutory holiday is July 2. For 2012, members working July 2 will receive stat pay ... not those working July 1.

The provincial government has given community social services workers another strong motivation to attend strike vote meetings being held around BC. 

Inflation is driving up the cost of living. The price of a litre of gas has climbed by 43 per cent since the last pay raise for community social services workers. Bread is up more than 11 per cent and milk more than 10 per cent.

However, these are not the only double digit increases.

Strike vote meetings for all unionized workers in the sector continue next week.

In addition to local info meetings, two thousand union members from across the province participated in a telephone town hall on Tuesday.

HSA President Reid Johnson told the town hall about his background working in community social services as a family counsellor, and in community living providing vocational rehab.  ‎"I know first hand how challenging and rewarding these jobs are," he said.

Three weeks of negotiations for the renewal of the Community Health collective agreement covering 14,000 health care and administrative workers in the Community Health sub-sector concluded on Saturday, June 16 in Vancouver. Talks are scheduled to resume on July 9, 2012 for one week.

Negotiations aimed at concluding a new contract covering 16,000 health care and administrative workers in the Community Health Services and Support sub-sector continued last week in Vancouver. Talks will continue.

On Monday and again on Wednesday last week, the Health Employers Association of British Columbia (HEABC) presented a broad based benefits proposal.  The Community Bargaining Association (CBA) is reviewing the proposals and we will provide you with the details when the bargaining committee has been able to get clarity.